A.O.E.M: Dichotomy Read online

  “Just kill me now.” Aurora drew her legs up and buried her face in her knees.

  The auctioneer emerged from one of the other shops. Dressed in jeans, a western shirt, cowboy boots and hat, he glanced around, confused by the laughter. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped when he spotted Ray.

  Chelsea laughed, despite Aurora’s humiliation. “Everyone is amused by Ray’s antics. I --”

  “Everyone is not his sister.”

  “Well, we seem to have an unusual participant today.” The auctioneer looked down the list of names on his clipboard. “Let’s all welcome Miss Raelynn Burton.”

  The crowed applauded and whistled. Ray blew kisses, obviously comfortable with the attention.

  Two cowgirls, adorned in identical costumes, rolled a large cart out from behind the bandstand. Decorated with ribbons and bows, flowers and ornaments, the box lunches had been arranged upon the cart. Right in the middle of the feminine frills sat a bright red toolbox.

  You’ll know. Believe me, you’ll know.

  Chelsea looked at Ray and he winked at her. Heavens, he was handsome, even in that ridiculous dress. “Is he counting on me to win the bid?” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper.

  “Yes, but it would serve him right if you drive up the bid and then let some hag have him.”

  “There’s a small problem with his plan.” Chelsea waited for Aurora to look at her before she added, “I don’t have a lot of money.”

  “If you want to rescue the rat, I’ll cover the bid.”

  The auctioneer saved the toolbox for last. He had inventoried the contents of each box before opening the bid. “Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid this one is locked. Do I have an opening bid for the mystery lunch?”

  “One thousand dollars,” a dark-haired woman near the back of the crowd called out.

  Aurora laughed. “That’s Bianca, Yamir’s wife. They own Trinkets and Truffles. She’ll probably have him scrub floors or clean windows.”

  One of the boxes had sold for eight thousand dollars, but most had gone for a couple hundred. Chelsea raised her hand. “Eleven hundred.” The auctioneer acknowledged her bid. “How high can I go?” she asked Aurora.

  “As high as you like. I’m going to get it back from Ray.” “Two thousand dollars,” Marissa called out, making her employer laugh. “Can she afford that?” Chelsea asked. “Probably not. She’s driving up the bid.” “Twenty-one hundred.” Chelsea looked at Ray and he blew her a kiss. “Three thousand,” Bianca responded without hesitation. Chelsea looked at Ray and he opened his hand, fingers splayed. “Five

  thousand.” Bianca laughed. “You better make him earn it, darling.” Her accent was even more pronounced than Yamir’s or Marissa’s. The auctioneer finalized the bid and Chelsea won the mystery lunch for the bargain price of five thousand dollars.

  * * *

  Ray stopped by his bungalow to change out of his dress. He couldn’t stop smiling. Chelsea’s laughter made his heart swell right along with another part of his body. Thankfully, his skirt concealed his misbehaving body part. He chuckled.

  No doubt Bianca had attended the auction at Evette’s request. His sister wanted to make sure he paid well for his deception. Well, the money went to charity, so he had no trouble parting with it. Besides, Chelsea had enjoyed herself.

  He spread a blanket on the beach in front of her bungalow and set down his toolbox before knocking on her door. “I didn’t recognize you without your dress.” She smiled as she joined him on the porch. “I can go back and put it on. It will only take a minute.”

  “That’s all right. I’ve already seen you in the dress. I’m dying to know what’s in the toolbox.”

  He took her hand and they strolled across the beach. She hadn’t bothered with sandals and her sundress flowed with each step they took. Uninvited, the image of her naked body filled his mind. Her full breasts thrust up, nipples tight, as he devoured her sweet pussy. He was instantly hard and ready to finish what they’d started at sunrise. How much did she remember? Delano said the Discernment was successful. She should have some memory.

  They sat on the blanket facing each other, the toolbox in between them. “Are you hungry?” He dragged his thoughts away from her luscious body and focused on her face.

  “Not really.”

  “Good.” He chuckled. “I’m not much of a cook.”

  “Then what’s in the toolbox?”

  He stared into her eyes. How did he even begin? Nothing had ever been more important, and nothing more daunting. “They’re more like snacks, I guess. We’ll take this one step at a time.”

  “All right.”

  “Do you like chocolate?” She nodded. “How about strawberries?”

  “What do you have in there?”

  “Lay back. I want to feed you.”

  She cocked her head, gaze narrowed. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “How do you know? It’s my toolbox. Only I know how each dish is meant to be consumed.”

  “I’m probably going to regret this.” She lay on her back and folded her hands behind her head. The position arched her back, pressing her breasts against the material of her sundress.

  Ray stubbornly kept his gaze on her face. “Aurora told me you teach history, but you seem fascinated with myths and legends.”

  She smiled. “Have I just lost your respect?”

  “Not at all.” He unlocked the toolbox and retrieved two plastic containers. “I believe most, if not all, legends begin with true events. The tales are sensationalized, romanticized, but at the center is a kernel of truth.”

  It took a long time for her to respond. He opened the containers while her gaze assessed him. “Are you mocking me?”

  “No.” He took a strawberry from one container and dipped it in the chocolate sauce contained in the other. “Do you find that so hard to believe?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but he put the treat between her lips. Laughing, she bit into the succulent fruit, licking a drop of chocolate from her lower lip. “I’ve always believed there’s a lot more truth in legends than anyone wants to consider. I used the concept for my senior thesis.”

  He fed her another strawberry, intentionally smearing her lips with chocolate. While she nibbled on the berry, he leaned down and licked the chocolate from her lips. She opened, inviting his kiss. Ray pulled back and smiled into her eyes, letting their desire smolder.

  “Would you be impressed or embarrassed if I confessed I’ve read your thesis?”

  “How did you get a copy of my thesis?”

  “You mentioned a magazine had published it one day in class and Aurora, being the curious type, found a copy.”

  “The university’s library has back issues.” She licked her lips and lowered one arm, resting her hand on her belly. “Only two kinds of people read that article. Colleagues who want a good laugh at my expense, and the sort of role playing fanatics who have prosthetic fangs implanted so they’ll look like vampires.”

  Smiling broadly, he displayed his teeth. “See, no fangs.”

  “Then you are laughing at me.”

  “No, I’m not. There are historical facts substantiating many common legends, including vampires. Some people believe werewolves, sorcerers, and fairies are more than bedtime stories.”

  After he fed her another strawberry, she asked, “Do you count yourself among

  the believers?”

  “I’ve never met a Vampire, but I’ve heard some fascinating stories about them.”

  “Have you ever met a Werewolf or a Fairy?” She sat up, scooting closer, her thigh brushing his.

  “Maybe.” His gaze captured hers. “Do you believe in soul mates? That people

  can know they’re meant to be together the first time they look into each other’s eyes?” Her breath hitched. Her lips parted, but she didn’t say a word.

  Way to ease into it, asshole. She’s going to think you’re insane. He took a slow, deep breath and dragged his gaze away from
her mouth. “Ready for the next course?”

  “Do you really believe in soul mates?” Her voice was soft and unsteady. He didn’t dare look at her. His eyes would reveal too much. “The concept is so discouraging. How can anyone hope to find one specific person --”

  “I found you.”

  Chapter Five

  Chelsea stared at Ray, shocked and dazzled. He couldn’t be serious… and yet his words rang true. Images from her dream melded with longing, making her restless and needful. This wasn’t lust. She’d felt lust before. There had been men she found attractive, men who fueled her erotic fantasies. This was deeper, darker, more elemental.

  “You don’t even know me,” she whispered, scrambling to her knees.

  His arm circled her waist and he pulled her onto his lap. “I know you, Chelsea. I’ve always known you. There is so much you need to understand, but I don’t want to frighten you.”

  The image of her dark stranger flashed within her mind. How could Ray be her soul mate when she’d been just as tempted by the mysterious visitor the night before? Echoes from her dream mocked her. They’d touched her together, pleasured her in ways she never would have imagined.

  “You don’t know me as well as you think.” Shamed by her desire, she tried to wiggle free.

  He lowered her to the blanket, arched over her, and pinned her hands above her head. “You’re blushing. Why are you embarrassed?”

  “Let me up.”

  “Tell me what made you blush.”

  Her feminine core fluttered and moisture pooled between her thighs. Just thinking about the dream turned her on. “I… don’t want to.”

  He chuckled, eyes flashing with wicked intent. “You’re not getting up until you confess, so speak now, or prepare to be ravished.”

  His mouth fastened onto the side of her neck, creating a torturous combination of tickle and tingle. She squirmed, yelped, and shoved against his chest. “I dreamed about you!”

  “What did we do in your dream?” His lips moved against her moist skin, accenting the tingles racing along her nerve endings. “Did I kiss you?”

  “Yes.” Her voice broke conspicuously and Chelsea closed her eyes.

  “Did we do more than kiss?” She didn’t answer and he moved both her wrists to one hand. He trailed his fingers along her upraised arm, her ribs, the underside of one breast. “Did I touch you?”

  The heat his fingers ignited put the sun’s rays to shame. She shifted, needing his touch on her nipples, his mouth, his tongue, his teeth. “Let’s go inside.” Opening her eyes, she gasped. Desire, fierce and possessive, burned in his gaze.

  “I want to make love to you, sweetheart, but you haven’t accepted the connection forming between us. I can’t be content with part of you. This isn’t just sex for me.”

  He was back to the soul mate nonsense. She yanked against his hand. His grasp held firm.

  What she felt for Ray was different than anything she’d experienced before. She craved him with obsessive intensity. But her attraction to the stranger held her back. What if he returned?

  “I don’t have casual affairs,” she told Ray. “It’s never just sex for me. The fact that I’m considering making love with you is astonishing.”

  A slow, sexy smile parted his lips. “It’s perfectly natural for your body to crave its mate.”

  He was impossible! “Then why are you denying me?”

  His mouth covered hers. She welcomed him with frustrated fervor. Curling her tongue around his, she tasted him, stroked him. Their lips pressed, slid, and pressed again. He adjusted the angle of his head, delving deeper.

  Slipping beneath her dress, his palm cupped her breast. His thumb moved over her nipple, rubbing, arousing. She moaned, needing more.

  He unfastened the buttons at the nape of her neck and lowered the front of her dress. “Yes.” Had that plaintive cry really come from her?

  His lips closed around her nipple and drew with firm, steady pressure. She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him close, urging him on. Was it this island or was it Ray? Why was she so wild? Never had her desire been so demanding, her need so acute.

  He stroked her breasts, squeezed them, shaping them as his mouth teased her nipples. One nipple waited, damp and neglected, while he lavished attention on the other. If only he had two mouths… If only there were two of him.

  This wasn’t right. Ray deserved better. He offered her affection without reservation and she remained distracted by a dream. Shame made her bold. She pressed her hand over the considerable bulge in the front of his shorts. “I want to touch you.”

  He didn’t object as she unfastened his waistband and lowered his zipper. Lifting his hips, he helped her pull his shorts down along his thighs. His cock rose, fully erect, from a nest of dark gold curls. Already his balls drew tight, illustrating the urgency of his need.

  She stroked his shaft, fascinated by the heat and the persistent throbbing against her fingers. Licking her lips, she scooted down. He shook his head, his fingers wrapped around her arm.

  “Take off your panties,” he suggested with a wicked smile. “Let’s do each other.”

  Sunlight warmed her naked breasts. She looked up and down the beach. Yamir had assured her the beach was private, but what he suggested was so -- erotic.

  “Well, I’m sure as hell not shy.” He kicked off his shorts and reached under her skirt, half dragging, half tearing off her panties. She laughed and offered token struggles, though each movement heightened her desire. “Do you want to be on top or can I?”

  Thinking he’d changed his mind and was going to make love to her, Chelsea said, “I want you on top of me.” Her eyes widened when he straddled her face and arched over her body. Holy shit, he still meant for them to “do each other.”

  She’d never had a man fuck her mouth, but there was no other way to describe what he did. He eased his cock between her parted lips as he pulled her legs up and back, spreading her thighs wide. Shocked and a little intimidated, Chelsea took a minute to accept the sheer carnality of the act.

  He used his arms to keep her open, while he parted her folds with his fingers. His tongue traced her slit, firm, thorough, evocative. She tightened her lips around his cock, unable to suppress the memory. This was exactly how he’d stroked her in the dream, only his position had been reversed.

  How could her imagination predict his technique, the flutter of his tongue over her clit, the way he slowed to rim her core? She trembled. It had to have been a dream. But how…

  “Are you okay?” He pulled out so she could answer.

  “I was until you stopped.”

  With a chuckle he pushed back into her mouth and tasted the very heart of her. She clasped his hips as he rocked in and out. Hot and hard, he slid within the snug circle of her lips. He focused his attention on her sensitive clit, circling, flicking, until her hips jerked rhythmically.

  Pleasure built within her, coiling like a spring. She clenched her internal muscles and whimpered. Her pussy was empty. She wanted him there, filling her, stretching her, completing her.

  She sucked stubbornly, taking him deep as he shuddered and moaned. He stroked her clit harder and harder. She arched against his mouth. Her orgasm pulsed through her as he released his seed down her throat. They clung to each other, feeling only pleasure, lost in passion’s storm.

  * * *

  “Fingers!” Delano snarled. “We agreed we would only use --”

  “I agreed to that during the Discernment. It’s a race to the finish line now. I intend to use every sexual skill I possess to win her over.” The challenge in Ray’s tone made Delano want to strangle him.

  Transition was always confusing, but he’d just emerged from sleep state to the tantalizing image of Ray’s face buried between Chelsea’s thighs while she enthusiastically sucked his cock.

  Turning away from his twin, Delano raked his fingers through his hair. “We must take her for the first time together or the bonding is compromised.”

&nb
sp; “I understand how it works, Delano. I’ve waited for this my entire life.”

  Delano couldn’t rid his mind of the image. Sunlight gleamed on her ivory skin as she arched and strained, surrendered to passion’s demands.

  How would she look by moonlight? Would he be able to stop with just a taste?

  Possessive desire fired his blood. He ached for the wet heat of her mouth and the sweet taste of her cream. The Discernment had given them a glimpse of the pleasures awaiting them. Delano was ready for a long, hard look.

  * * *

  After sharing an amusing dinner with Ray and Aurora, Chelsea returned to her bungalow, hoping to sort out her thoughts. Her passionate exchange with Ray on the beach left her confused and uncertain. She’d never wanted to make love with a man more, yet never been more relieved when it didn’t happen. He thought he was her soul mate. They had known each other less than forty-eight hours and he was ready to… She didn’t really understand what he expected, only that it entailed more than sex.

  She chuckled and walked out onto the porch. Maybe the sunset would calm her. Wrapping both hands around her glass of wine, she sat on one of the wicker chairs and gazed out over the lagoon. Palm trees swayed in the breeze as the horizon erupted with color. Most women longed for a man who was willing to make a commitment. Why couldn’t she find a happy medium?

  “Would you mind if I joined you or are you enjoying the solitude?”

  The dark-haired stranger stood at the side of the railed porch, dressed as he’d been the night before in suit pants and an oxford shirt. Didn’t he own anything but business attire?